CHAP. XXXVI GENERAL-IN-CHIEF OF CAVALRY. 



547 



in the milii:ary profession is as old as the history of the 

 science of war. Xenophon, one of the very earliest 

 writers on tiic subject, gives an account of a convei-sation 

 between Socrates and an Athenian youth, who had 

 attended the lecture!.; of one who taught the military 

 art. Socrates ar;ked him how the professor began to 

 teach him generalship. " He began," replied the youth, 

 "with the same thing with which he ended, for he taught 

 me tactics and nothing else." "But," said Socrates, 

 " how small a part of the qualifications of a general is 

 this ! " And, after mentioning various qualifications, he 

 went on to say, " But did your instructor teach you to 

 arrange an army merely, or did he tell you for what 

 purpose and in what manner you must employ each 

 division of your forces ? " " Not at all," replied he. 

 " Yet there are many occasions on which it is not proper 

 to draw up an army or to conduct it in the same way." 

 " But, by Jupiter, he gave me no explanation as to 

 such occasions." " Go again then by all means," said 

 Socrates, " and question him : for if he knows and is 

 not quite shameless he will blush, after taking your 

 money, to send you away in ignorance." 



In addition to all the other faculties, a cavalry general 

 should be possessed of a strong inventive genius, and be 

 self-reliant enough to strike out a new line and adopt 

 reforms where he sees them necessary. We have seen in 

 the whole progress of tuis work how reformers have 

 arisen from time to time, and how their successes have 

 almost invariably been attributable, to a great extent, 

 to the inventive genius that has been one of their 

 distinguishing characteristics. 



Alexander the Great invented the impetuous attack 

 with horsemen, and was a reformer to that extent, 

 and the new and unaccustomed tactics aided him greatly 

 in winning his victories. Hannibal's dependence on 

 horsemen, and the skilful method in which he employed 

 them, was a surprise to the Romans, and won him many 

 successes. Scipio Africanus imitated and improved the 

 system, and beat Hannibal with his own weapons. 

 Henry the Fowler was another instance, the Black 



N X 2 



